The Real Deal New York

L+M pulls out of Long Island College Hospital project

Firm's exit leaves future of affordable housing at the former SUNY site in doubt

August 13, 2014 02:05PM

Losing Long Island College Hospital, a rare full-service hospital in brownstone Brooklyn, was a blow to locals, eased only by the hope that new affordable apartments would replace it. But now affordable housing developer L+M Development Partners has quit the redevelopment project, Ron Moelis, the firm’s principal announced.

Moelis explained that he was unsure of his firm’s ability to develop lower-cost units at the hospital because the time frame didn’t allow for engagement with the city, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Moelis added that if the project’s lead developer Fortis Property Group could line up support from city officials for taller buildings, he would reconsider the move.
Sources told the Journal that for Fortis to make the project work financially with affordable apartments, it would need to build more housing overall – something that has been met with resistance from community groups.

And while the future of affordable housing at the site is now uncertain, community leaders say that they the inclusion of below market units is nonnegotiable.